The year is 1876. Arthur Conan Doyle is a medical student at the University of Edinburgh; his professor, Dr. Joseph Bell, is the man Doyle always claimed as the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. The two men could not be more different - Dr. Bell instilled in the young Doyle the need for keen observation in medical mysteries, while Doyle was a lifelong believer in using mysticism and the occult to uncover hidden secrets - something his most famous creation would have despised. The Real Sherlock Holmes examines the origins of the Sherlock character using the actual historical personalities of the two men, framed by a Sherlockian-style adventure as they compete to solve a mysterious death. It's logic versus magic, who will win?